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U.S. may seek details on 177th Fighter Wing plans
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The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $550.4 billion defense authorization bill Thursday that could force the Air Force to state whether it plans to close the 177th Fighter Wing in Egg Harbor Township.
House members voted 389-22 to authorize $130 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and $300 million for purchase of 12 F-22 jets in 2010.
The jet funding has prompted threat of a presidential veto because the Obama administration views the F-22, developed by Lockheed Martin, as outdated and believes F-22 production will slow down F-35 production.
However, some are concerned that delays in the F-35's development could endanger 18 military sites currently responsible for national air defense, including the 177th Fighter Wing, which deploys jets for defensive response from New York to Washington, D.C. They fear the U.S. Air Force has not adequately planned to replace F-15 and F-16 fighter jets that operate out of these bases.
"They have been stonewalling," said U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd. "Maybe they have a good plan. My suspicion is they don't have a plan. If they had a plan, they would share it with us. This has been going on for several years."
A Government Accountability Office report found that 11 of the 18 sites could be without viable aircraft by 2020 if the planes are not replaced over the next few years. Fourteen would have to suspend operations between 2010 and 2020 as their assigned F-15s and F-16s reach the ends of their service lives, according to LoBiondo, a member of the House Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces.
LoBiondo and U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., whose Tuscon district includes the nation's largest Air Guard base, crafted an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill that would compel the Air Force to provide details on its plans to replace the aging F-15 and F-16 jets. Both fear their local bases could be closed if the jets are not replaced. They need the U.S. Senate to include the provision in its version of the bill.
Reached late Thursday afternoon for comment, an Air Force spokeswoman was circumspect about the matter but said more information may be available today.
"The Air Force is working to develop criteria for future basing actions for the F-35s, and at this time, we don't have details on future basing actions," Air Force Lt. Col. Linda Pepin said.
The House legislation, which sets the Pentagon's budget for the 2010 fiscal year starting Oct. 1, also provides $9.3 billion to protect the U.S. and its armed forces overseas from ballistic missile attack. The bill would prohibit the Obama administration from moving terrorist suspects being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the U.S. until 120 days after it delivers to Congress a plan outlining the risks of doing so. Locally, the bill also includes $1.7 million for a new munitions facility at the 177th Fighter Wing.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Posted in Cumberland on Friday, June 26, 2009 3:10 am
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